Hope, promises and disenfranchisement: examining computer-assisted instruction in alternative schooling

In the following study, the author explores the role that computer-assisted instruction (CAI) plays in the cycle of disenfranchisement experienced by alternative school students. Students in alternative education are often trapped in the vicious cycle of disenfranchisement, and the high school diploma is heralded as a method for disrupting this cycle. CAI is viewed as a tool for rapidly progressing students towards graduation. The author found that in the CAI classroom, efficiency was rewarded over meaningful and equitable learning that could effectively lead to change. This leads the author to question whether alternative education is another method for maintaining the status quo.